Torn
by lilbit05
Summary: Alvin's back with a few surprises for Hiccup and the Dragon Riders! How will Hiccup deal with the ever growing threat and responsibility. What about his relationship with Astrid? Will he be able to come to terms with his fate or will he set out and make his own path in the world?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Disclaimer- I do not own How to Train your Dragon. Constructive Criticism Appreciated.

"Thor, Oh Thor! Hiccup! Can you remind me why exactly we need go past Dragon Island?!" Fishlegs Nervously exclaimed.

"Relax Fishlegs!" Hiccup jokingly replied.

The truth was that the subtly in which the Outcasts had displayed had shocked them all. I mean using the uncharted islands that surrounded Berk to supplant the indigenous population was a truly astonishing plot. As they where learning, Dragons have a very delicate ecosystem, one that the influx of foreign dragons was greatly disturbing.

The plan they had come up was simple: Find the original origin of the particular species and relocate them Or Find a new Island for them to habitat.

It was a plan that surprisingly Tuffnut even understood and agreed with. So now with the Dragon Riders heading past Dragon Island and into unfamiliar territory they where met with a certain amount of trepidation or in Hiccup's case excitement.

"I hope you have some food packed in that man purse of yours, Fishlegs.", Snotlout hollered.

"Yeah, like we haven't eaten since midday!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

"It's still midday, Idiot!", Ruffnut replied while reaching over and smacking her brother in the stomach.

"Guys just hold up there is something ahead!", Astrid shouted.

"This one is definitely not on the map!", Fishlegs shouted out.

"Good eye Astrid, Remember guys, we have to split up and scout the island before landing." Hiccup said.

He was met with silence, the other members of the academy where leery of what they might find. The dragons that Alvin had introduced had scared most of them. They where constantly struggling to come up either with new ways to train them or in most instances simply deferring them from reeking havoc upon Berk was a struggle. Some sadly had not ended well with loses on both sides. The whole village was on high alert, with the constant pressure from the Outcasts and errant dragon fights. Everyone's nerves where on edge, it was almost as bad as the dragon raids.

Gobber now ran both the dentistry and the smithy full time, most the time with hiccup working the stall with an ever-increasing demand for not only saddles but armor and weaponry as well. The demand was so high Gobber was looking for a second apprentice for the shop. Hiccup's time was split between overseeing the academy, working the shop, thwarting Alvin, resolving dragon disputes and daily cheifing lessons with Stoick. It was seriously putting a damper upon his time with Astrid and Toothless. Neither was happy with this new development.

Hiccup snapped out of it when they came closer to the island, it was small and well wooded. Which was a serious concern; their new protocol dictated that they sweep the coasts and outcroppings before flying inland to scout the forestry from above. If it was deemed safe then half the team would land and the other three would hang back as lookouts/backup in the event of an ambush.

Hiccup flew over the east side of the island, the trees where dense but nothing really stuck out and Toothless was calm, so far so good. He made to bank around and head back to the group, looked like most of the teens had made it back.

"Clear.", Astrid stated.

"Nothing.", Snotlout lazily said.

"Looks like it is uninhabited.", Fishlegs chimed in.

"Boring!", the twins yelled.

"Good, Ruff Tuff lets land on the north end of that beach and head in. The rest of you guys know what to do." Hiccup turned and headed down, if anything the Twins had a knack for flushing things out or bringing attention to themselves with their constant bickering. He did not miss the one raised eyebrow Astrid gave him; she did not approve of Hiccups recent escapades.

"Well that was a bust." Complained Snotlout.

"Damn, what was that for?" He whined at Astrid, while rubbing is sore arm.

"Well it was kind of anticlimactic, all things considering." Fishlegs stated.

"A relief if you ask me!" Ruffnut sighed.

Hiccup let out a long breath; this was the first island they had discovered that had not been occupied by either "unfriendly dragons' or Outcasts. With any hope, the further out they went, the more islands they would find like this one. He knew that despite the "fronts", the other teens where scared, their nerves had been rattled and tempers where running high.

Turning back to the map he had spread out on the sand, he marked this island in from a crude drawing Fishlegs had made on a scrap piece of paper. This had been the farthest they had traveled from Berk. Almost half a days' travel, they would have to camp here tonight under the cover of the woods. In the morning, the teens would want to head back, but Hiccup had found a new sense of freedom and excitement in these adventures. He was filled with wonderment and anticipation at the new islands they discovered, anything was possible! The world seemed to stretch on forever, and endless sea of new places, perhaps new people. It is not like he did not love his home and his tribe but he felt stifled under the weight of the responsibility he had been saddled with.

The other teens spread out to start making camp for the night.

"Hey Hiccup, saved you some cod." Astrid handed the cooked meat wrapped in a leaf. She sat down next to him and sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder as he took a bite out of the slightly salty meat.

"Thank You" Hiccup wiped his mouth with his sleeve and leaned in to kiss Astrid softly on her lips. That was the best part about Astrid, he never had to explain himself to her, she simply accepted him.

"Urgh…." She replied while leaning into him , running both hands into his hair and deepening the kiss.

Hiccup slipped one arm around Astrid's waist and gently tugged her forward. She replied by swinging her leg over his lap and seating herself firmly on him. He slipped his hand under her tunic to slowly stroke her back as they relaxed into each other.

"Um…..Hiccup, Astrid you should probably come see this…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

"Disclaimer- I do not own How to Train your Dragon."

Astrid blew out her breath as Hiccup sighed loudly. "Alright Tuffnut, It had better be something important this time." He stated.

"It always is and Yeah, you guys might want to hurry up!" Tuffnut exclaimed.

Hiccup folded the map, sticking Fishlegs drawing in the middle and headed back over to their camp. They had already put out the campfire and where now standing on the edge of the beach staring out at the ocean. He stood next to Fishlegs, who handed over the watch glass.

"So what do you make of it?" Astrid Inquired.

"It's hard to make out but there are definitely dragons in those cages on the bow." Fishlegs replied.

"Well, one thing for sure is that it is an outcast ship, Savage is at the helm." Hiccup stated as he passed the watch glass to Snotlout.

"Another would be, do we really want whatever is on that boat to wind up on Berk?" Snotlout chimed in.

"I know they are a long ways out from Outcast Island, whatever is on that boat must be really important." Astrid stated.

"Or really Dangerous!" Ruffnut shouted as her and her brother head-butted.

"Yeah, important enough that they are trying to be discreet about it, look they are flying plain sails." Fishlegs pointed out.

"Well let's stop standing around and do something about it already!" Snotlout huffed, Cleary impatient.

They finished pulling up camp and mounted their dragons; with the cover of night as their aid, it gave them a good advantage over the outcasts.

"Alright, Ruff, Tuff, Snotlout and Fishlegs; distract them while Astrid and I cut loose those dragons." Hiccup shouted to the group.

"And be ready to get out of there once those dragons are cut loose, we don't want to take any chances!" Astrid said.

Hiccup and Astrid headed towards the bow of the ship while the others covered the stern, port and starboard sides. They would only get one chance at this.

The twins swooped down and laid fire on the deck. Hookfang was busy setting fire to everything on the stern while; Fishlegs took the catapults out of commission with precision shots. The outcasts where scrambling along the deck trying to fire back at the teens but they were split between keeping the ship from sinking and shooting at their opponents.

Meanwhile at the cages, Toothless and Stormfly fired shots just in front of the dragon cages, while the others continued mounting attacks from their positions. Hiccup swooped in and fired a direct shot to the front of the cage, while Astrid focused on cover fire from his back. The dragons inside had realized that they were no longer locked in and proceeded to burst forth from their prisons. Once out and up in the air, Hiccup and Astrid both recognized the dragons instantly to their horror.

"Grapple Grounders!" They both whispered.

One Red and one Light Green, the Grapple Grounders are a rare Stoker class dragon. They are about the size of a deadly nadder and slightly resemble a monstrous nightmare(Think Chinese Dragons). They are known for their aggressiveness, speed, and fire blasts that resemble a Night Fury's.

The two dragons roared loudly as they rose in the air. The Grapple Grounders where highly aggressive and very territorial. They squared off against Astrid and Hiccup and looked torn between attacking the two dragons or going after their captors.

Toothless screeched loudly at the foreign dragons, "Hold it there bud." Hiccup leaned forward to comfort toothless. "Astrid, Me and Toothless will distract these guys while you get the others; make sure to sink the ship. We will meet back at Dragon Island by the caves… We need to discourage Savage and the others from coming this far out again." Hiccup shouted.

"Wait hiccup! What about you, are you sure you can take them on by yourself!" Astrid said.

"Astrid, Toothless is the only dragon fast enough to outrun a Grapple Grounder!" Hiccup stated.

"OK!" Astrid shouted as she turned and headed back towards the others.

"Alright bud, now let's see what these guys have got!" Hiccup patted Toothless's side as they shot off towards the Grappling Grounders.

Toothless barrel rolled and shot off two blasts at the Grounders. They screamed and turned towards them. Toothless reared up shot off up and past the pair. "Evasive maneuvers bud!" Hiccup said while looking behind them and tapping the left side of Toothless's neck. He immediately complied and banked left as one of the grounders shot off a blast right where they had been. The pair flew zigzagging above the open ocean as the grounders continued to gain speed on them. "Alright bud, let's head up in the clouds an see if we can loose them!"

They shot up higher into the sky with the Grapple Grounders literally on their tail. Higher and higher, they climbed until they soared into the middle of the clouds. The growls of the Grapple Grounders on their backs as they banked left and right thru the clouds. It was so dark hiccup could barely see his hands on Toothless's saddle. They could not afford to shoot off a blast in front of them lest they give away their position. They traveled like that for some time, both had become layered in the condensation from the clouds, leaving them slick, damp, and in hiccup's case shivering.

Hiccup could no longer hear the Grounders behind them so he leaned down on toothless and told him to slow down but stay hovering in the clouds. He wanted to wait and be sure that they had lost the two dragons before they left the cover of the clouds. Hiccup strained to hear anything above the flapping of toothless's wings. They stayed like that in that position for what seemed like only a few moments before toothless started growling lowly. The hairs on the back of Hiccup's neck stood up and a shiver ran down his spine, maybe they had not lost the Grounders as he had hoped.

Suddenly he heard a familiar sound that instantly reminded him of when toothless was gearing up for a plasma blast. His grip on the saddle tightened and he leaned all his weight to the right while shouting, "Toothless roll!" They rolled right just as a fireball zoomed past them from the back and immediately had to bank left to avoid another one in front of them. The jig is up! Hiccup mentally noted as they shot off up above the clouds.

With the moon bright above them, Hiccup could see that the Grappling Grounders where again right on their tail. Hiccup and Toothless frantically fought to stay ahead of them while constantly avoiding the fireballs hurled at them. Knowing that it was only a matter of time before their luck ran out. Hiccup guided Toothless lower and lower until they could barely make out the island below. Luckily, it was the same island they had landed on earlier that day and Hiccup thought that maybe they could lose them in the thick forest. It was risky but it was worth a shot.

With a burst of speed they, flew towards the forest at a breakneck pace. Slowing down only once they entered the thick of the trees. They began to fly in and around in an erratic pattern. They heard the Grappling Grounders reach the forest as they let out a piercing scream and heard the snapping of branches. Hiccup and Toothless continued on thankful that they had explored this forest earlier. Just before the forest ends, there was a small cliff with large boulders and various debris. That would be where they would hide and make their move.

**A/N: Thank you for the views and reviews! I am currently not a very good writer but I hope to improve over the duration of this story. Constructive Criticism is greatly appreciated. I apologize for the wait between chapters. Shut down at the plant, working seven ten's kind of kills your creativity. **

**To Tasermom's Partner: I used your advice and cleaned up and reloaded chapter one. Please let me know if you find any other errors. **

**To Risuchan0223: Glad you enjoyed the first chapter.**


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